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Help! No compression cylinder #5

5261 Views 260 Replies 11 Participants Last post by  undivide
Ok so any help here would be great. I'm a single mom, with a 2011 pilot. Always kept up with maintenance, oil changes ect. Yesterday I went to merge onto the highway and instantly my CEL started flashing and I could tell it was misfiring. Drove it to my mechanic, they read code amd said misfire on 5...they replace cpil and plug and the misfire would move around. (Not sure what that meant). I left the truck there. Today they said they did a compression test and all cylinders are good, except 5 has no compression at all. And bc there a small local shop there trying to figure it out and the next step is to check if my rocker is broken. Does this sound right? I'm so confused bc I all hear is $$ and being I just paid off my daughter's college bill I'm broke!!! Also to note it smelled slightly of antifreeze when he opened my hood. Although it never over heated and never has in the past. No rough starts ect..no riding different or funny sounds. The only sound I heard over this past month was a squeeling noise from what I assumed was my serpentine belt. Not super loud or crazy just mildly. Any suggestions??
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Oh and they said after sitting overnight today they pulled the spark plug for #5 and it was clean as could be
The real next step is to do a leakdown test and see where the compression is going. The most common cause of no compression that I see on this engine (when the engine still runs otherwise) is a burned up exhaust valve.

What is your mileage?
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And the vehicle still runs...barely..but it does
Definitely possible that you could have a burned valve. Have the valves ever been adjusted?
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Definitely possible that you could have a burned valve. Have the valves ever been adjusted?
No honestly wasn't something I ever even thought about. Up until the moment it happened everything ran smooth and good.
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once the valve cover is off they can really see what is going on with that cylinders rockers while also performing the necessary leak-down test to find out where the pressure is going like previous post said. the shop could also borescope the cylinder thru the plug hole while the valves are open to see their condition. hopefully they don't have to pull the head to do any valve work. at that point it might make more sense to drop on another head depending on labor costs associated with a valve replacement.
definitely needs a VCM disabling device installed once this issue is resolved.
again, all it might need is a valve adjustment too!
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I fear to ask, but besides oil changes, what else did you do? Timing belt, filters, spark plugs, any of the other fluids, etc..?
Did they say they did a dry and wet compression test? If they didn't do a wet compression test on that cylinder, you need to go to another mechanic.
If they said they moved the coil and spark plug and the misfire moved with the coil and spark plug, they could narrow it down to that coil or plug. Which would likely be the coil, but they should move 1 at a time to find out which is bad. They should have been able to advice you on the bad coil, but seems they didn't.
Having low compression is different then having no compression. Is there a way to get the compression reading from them? Both wet and dry compression readings.
If it's zero compression, it would very likely be an issue with the valves or associated parts. This would be unfortunate if it requires a head removal. Opening the valve cover and looking at the associated parts would be ideal. Hopefully something on top the head has failed, and not the actual valve.
I would have them show you in person that you are getting no compression in that cylinder before you proceed.
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once the valve cover is off they can really see what is going on with that cylinders rockers while also performing the necessary leak-down test to find out where the pressure is going like previous post said. the shop could also borescope the cylinder thru the plug hole while the valves are open to see their condition. hopefully they don't have to pull the head to do any valve work. at that point it might make more sense to drop on another head depending on labor costs associated with a valve replacement.
definitely needs a VCM disabling device installed once this issue is resolved.
again, all it might need is a valve adjustment too!
I had mentioned a vcm device a year ago to my mechanic, he said he's never done one. Very interested in that also. Any suggestions on one?
Did they say they did a dry and wet compression test? If they didn't do a wet compression test on that cylinder, you need to go to another mechanic.
They did not specify bc I didn't ask. I'm unaware of what to ask really. I'm assuming dry, bc they said they checked it and it was clean and dry??
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I fear to ask, but besides oil changes, what else did you do? Timing belt, filters, spark plugs, any of the other fluids, etc..?
Well oil basically because I've only put a little less than 20k on it, and the mechanic says I don't need specific things yet bc they're fine (spark plugs ect) I've done other things like brakes, rotors, wheel bearings. But not fluids. Except oil
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If they said they moved the coil and spark plug and the misfire moved with the coil and spark plug, they could narrow it down to that coil or plug. Which would likely be the coil, but they should move 1 at a time to find out which is bad. They should have been able to advice you on the bad coil, but seems they didn't.
Having low compression is different then having no compression. Is there a way to get the compression reading from them? Both wet and dry compression readings.
If it's zero compression, it would very likely be an issue with the valves or associated parts. This would be unfortunate if it requires a head removal. Opening the valve cover and looking at the associated parts would be ideal. Hopefully something on top the head has failed, and not the actual valve.
I would have them show you in person that you are getting no compression in that cylinder before you proceed.
They did say at first it was a coil. But the new coil and plug was put in and the misfire moved? Unfortunately I work during there hours of operation and now have no vehicle so I can't get there to speak in person
This was all told over the phone. Last thing they told me was after compression test cylinder 5 had NO compression, and they were going to look at the rocker next...this is all a foreign language to me. And when they pulled the plug for 5 and it was clean and dry as a whistle
That's all I was told. Now I know what to ask at least when i speak to them.
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I had mentioned a vcm device a year ago to my mechanic, he said he's never done one. Very interested in that also. Any suggestions on one?
Worry about this issue first, then you can worry about that. The VCM megathread is your friend:
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Worry about this issue first, then you can worry about that. The VCM megathread is your friend:
Well called today to see..and they haven't touched my vehicle. It's a small local shop , and they're busy. Only 2 workers so they said there going to try to get it in the bay ,as soon as they can that they have to take the top of my motor off . Assuming its going to be awhile before I even know anything.
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Sorry, I was under the impression you had owned it new. Hopefully the old owners did the timing belt, and valve lash before selling it to you, along with fresh fluids, unfortunately without knowing, they could have sold it to you because they didn't want to do those things, which would have been the mileage you purchased it at.
How much are they charging you to take the "top of the motor off"? They shouldn't be performing any work before discussing how much it will cost so you don't get slapped with a huge bill. "Top of the motor", could be valve cover or head. Valve cover not so bad, head very bad. They should do a leak down test before taking off the head, and definitely talk to you about pricing first.
Sorry, I was under the impression you had owned it new. Hopefully the old owners did the timing belt, and valve lash before selling it to you, along with fresh fluids, unfortunately without knowing, they could have sold it to you because they didn't want to do those things, which would have been the mileage you purchased it at.
How much are they charging you to take the "top of the motor off"? They shouldn't be performing any work before discussing how much it will cost so you don't get slapped with a huge bill. "Top of the motor", could be valve cover or head. Valve cover not so bad, head very bad. They should do a leak down test before taking off the head, and definitely talk to you about pricing first.
So if I do keep this vehicle . What do you suggest for maintenance ? And I'm assuming they will tell me price and what they find
I know it's going to take them awhile to get to it, let alone fix it..if they even can.
I don't have money to take it to the dealer. So I don't have much choice. He's my usual mechanic, so he didn't tell me a price to look at it. I know his labor rate is $80 per hour. In the past he's been a fair mechanic.
Not talking price before performing work, means he can charge you anything he wants after, or hold your vehicle hostage until you do pay. That is bad practice. Before he takes off the valve cover which I have to assume is what he meant, he should do a leak down test to verify if it is the intake or exhaust valve, or piston rings, or head gasket. It could be a crack for all he knows, but a leak down test would be the next logical cheapest route after finding low/no compression. Removing parts is not. That just costs you money, and may not even find the issue. If his next step is to take the head off, that is expensive and time consuming just to figure out what a simple leak down test would tell him an hour, compared to days worth of work.
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If he finds out it will need new valves, and will cost $2k to fix it. What is your next step? Now he just spent between $150 -$1,000 depending on if he removes the valve cover or head gasket to find the issue, before talking the cost to do so. Now your car is in parts at his shop, and you have to either come up with the remaining money to fix the issue, or pay an additional $150 - $1k on top of the cost to find the issue. Remember it just cost $150-$1k to tear into the motor to find the issue. It isn't the cost to fix it, now it has to be put back together, unless you pay a tow company to take it away either to your house or to another mechanic, which is going to charge you to put it back together or fix it at the same price, or more depending on the mechanic.
Tell him you want leak down test performed before he starts removing parts and trapping you. Then it could be weeks or months to get fixed if he doesn't have time, and since he already has you trapped because it's in parts, it could take a while.
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